Voice overs, budgets, auditions

The rate for voice over talents is usually based on the usage and length of the recording and – especially in the case of commercial use – the recognition of the voice actor. As a rule of thumb: The more the nature of a job has a commercial background, the higher the rate. Consequently, rates for commercials are the highest around and can – depending on the buyout – quickly reach four, five and even six-digit figures.

The bodalgoMat provides a good overview of voice over rates. With it you can calculate a budget for different projects with just a few clicks.

The Buyout is the transfer of rights to use a recording, usually in exchange for money (obviously). The exact usage is precisely defined regarding territory and duration or is granted without restriction (a so called "full buyout").

The counterpart to a buyout is the so-called "layout" or "Basic Session Fee" (BSF), which refers to the talent's rate for the studio time and production of the recording itself. However, the importance of BSFs is dwindling as more and more talents record in their own studios.

The cornerstone of any successful audition is a good description of the assignment and your expectations. The talent needs to understand the purpose of the recording, the target group and the type of expression and voice you expect. This ensures highly relevant offers.

When selecting your candidates, you should pay attention to a professional implementation, recognizable by precise articulation, lively, authentic expression (according to your specifications) and a technically flawless recording (no hiss, no background noises, no room ambiance, etc.)

Tip: The price should not – within reason, of course – play a major role in your considerations. Shopping the bottom shelf because of a 20 percent saving certainly does not justify the risk of your project being totally rejected by your target group because of a voice talent that did fit the job.

That depends on why you don't like the result: If the recording contains errors (incorrect pronunciation, forgotten words or sentences), the talent must re-record free of charge, no question. The same applies if there are technical defects (hiss, background noise, room ambiance, etc.).

It becomes more difficult when subjective criteria are involved, such as artistic approach. However, thanks to online casting with auditions according to your script, such a case is rather unlikely, since you already know in advance how the talent will interpret your copy.

Important: Subsequent changes to the copy by the customer (so-called "author corrections") do not need to be recorded by the voice talent free of charge. Ideally, however, you should agree on a rate for author corrections at the beginning of the collaboration.